Friends, fellow warriors of the Midway, and national sports media personalities who have apparently just discovered that the Chicago Bears exist, WE HAVE THEIR ATTENTION.
Monday night was more than a victory. It was a declaration. A footballing thunderclap. A televised demonstration of what happens when the Bears decide to stop being a charming little rebuilding story and start behaving like a professional football team with deeply unpleasant intentions and two less first round picks.
Cicero watched the game. Then watched the highlights. Then watched the highlights again. Then conducted a thorough national media vibe check. The results were extraordinary.
The Bears are dominating football conversation. Analysts are talking. Fans are talking. Social media is talking. Somewhere, a previously indifferent sports radio host has been forced to pronounce the name "Chicago" without adding the words "quarterback controversy" or "organizational dysfunction."
Also, the forest dwelling minions squirrels have discovered my laptop and have become quite proficient little data analysts. They insisted Cicero include an infographic below, and these critters didn’t even know that word existed until this week. This is what happens when you expose woodland creatures to the internet.
Optimism Eternal?
The energy in Chicago is electric. Not ordinary electricity, either. This is the kind of electricity that makes the streetlights flicker, causes CTA turnstiles to briefly work, and convinces a man in a Bears jersey that a Super Bowl run might actually be happening.
It feels familiar. Last season, the excitement built slowly. A comeback here. A comeback there. One improbable victory after another. The city went from cautious optimism to unrestrained football ecstasy somewhere between the third and fourth cardiac event. And now the current is building again.
CHICAGO, PLEASE REMAIN SEATED.
Actually, forget that. Stand up. Stretch. Hydrate. We have football to discuss.
The Simmons Effect: Number 99 Means Business
It took Jeffery Simmons exactly one game to make his presence felt. One. Game.
The man arrived in Chicago, put on number 99, and immediately began rearranging the neighborhood.
Sam Darnold experienced the sensation of trying to work from home while a construction crew demolishes the wall behind their desk.
This is what happens when you add an elite defensive presence to a team that already has momentum. Suddenly, the pocket gets smaller. The running lanes get narrower. Offensive coordinators begin staring at their play sheets as if the answers might be hidden in the margins.
Cicero has prepared a small shrine to number 99. It consists of one pinecone, a Bears helmet, an 80’s poster of the Danimal, orange arm sleeves, and a framed photograph of a quarterback being introduced to the turf.
WELCOME TO CHICAGO, JEFFERY. PLEASE CONTINUE.
Sunday Night: The Buccaneers Come to Town
Now the Tampa Bay Buccaneers arrive at Soldier Field for another prime-time affair. Sunday night football. Chicago. A perfect fall day. Tailgate lots open all afternoon.
I have reviewed the forecast, consulted the forest spirits, and conducted an independent survey of the parking lots.
The conditions are ideal.
The leaves are turning. The air is crisp. The grills are fired up. The Old Style is cold. And by kickoff, a significant percentage of the population will be explaining complicated defensive schemes to strangers while holding a bratwurst.
It is beautiful. It is also dangerous.
Because there is a creature more frightening than a fully hydrated grizzly bear, more unpredictable than Chicago weather, and more destructive than a raccoon that has discovered an unlocked cooler.
THE BEARS LETDOWN GAME.
This is the trap. The national media is paying attention. The city is buzzing. The Simmons acquisition has everyone imagining defensive destruction on an industrial scale. The team has just delivered a statement victory.
And Tampa Bay would very much enjoy reminding everyone that football games are played on the field, not in the comment sections.
We cannot allow that.
The Buccaneers are a serious opponent, even if they won their last game and never completed a forward pass. They will arrive entirely uninterested in our national media vibe check.
They do not care how many times we watched Monday night's highlights. And they do not care how many pinecones Cicero crushed in celebration. For the record they should though, as it was quite impressive.
The Forest Energy Protocol
Close your eyes.
Inhale the crisp autumn air. Exhale the Tampa Bay offense.
Inhale the roar of Soldier Field. Exhale the phrase, "They might be looking ahead."
Inhale the destructive power of number 99. Exhale the memory of every Bears letdown game since the invention of television.
Now visualize a clean opening drive. No need for a 17 play masterpiece again, but we’ll take a touchdown any way Ben Johnson pleases.
Visualize a defensive stop. Visualize Simmons collapsing the pocket. Visualize the scoreboard steadily moving in Chicago's favor.
Visualize the Buccaneers looking toward their sideline with the expression of tourists who have just realized their rental car is parked in an overnight tow zone in Streeterville.
Finally, visualize Chicago celebrating another prime-time victory while Cicero stands beside the Des Plaines River, arms raised, surrounded by glowing pinecones.
THIS IS A FOREST-BASED MANIFESTATION STRATEGY.
The Oracle's Prediction
Cicero has consulted the river, the squirrels, the national media, and one raccoon who claims to have inside information from the Buccaneers' equipment truck.
The verdict:
BEARS 44, BUCCANEERS 20.
Simmons continues his reign of pocket terror. The offense stays aggressive. The defense makes life difficult. Soldier Field becomes a cauldron of navy-and-orange energy. And the Bears avoid the dreaded letdown.
Because this is the moment when good teams separate themselves from teams that merely enjoy a nice week on television.
Closing Wisdom: Keep the Current Flowing
A wise bear knows that momentum is a gift. It must be respected, protected, and occasionally celebrated with an unreasonable quantity of Gene & Jude's hot dogs. Chicago is buzzing. The national conversation has changed. The defense has a new wrecking ball wearing number 99. And another prime-time opportunity awaits.
No hangover (until Monday). No letdown. No mercy for the pocket.
National Media Vibe Check [Squirrel Edition]
The numbers make the story even better:
12.7% of all published podcast hours across 13 shows discussed the Bears.
16.3% of NFL-dedicated podcast coverage was Bears-related.
245 minutes of Bears discussion landed on Tuesday alone.
PFF NFL Podcast led the way, with 32% of its published hours devoted to the Bears.
Cicero will absolutely treat this infographic as Exhibit A in the ongoing investigation into Chicago's rapidly escalating football euphoria.
The forest has spoken. The podcasts have confirmed it. The squirrels are starting a network. 🐻
Da Bears: the week after the statement win
Nov 3-6, 2026 - after Bears 34, Seahawks 17 on Monday Night Football
Headline
The Bears ate 12.7% of every hour the 13 biggest football podcasts published after Monday night - about 7.5 of 58.6 hours. And it wasn't just the NFL-obsessed shows: the big general-audience podcasts put nearly a tenth of their week on the Bears too. A signature win becomes a national story.
All 13 shows
12.7% of published podcast hours
| All 13 shows | 12.7% |
|---|---|
| 8 NFL-dedicated shows | 16.3% |
| 5 general sports shows | 8.7% |
Day by day
Tuesday was the pile-on
| Tue Nov 3 | 245 minutes |
|---|---|
| Wed Nov 4 | 120 minutes |
| Thu Nov 5 | 67 minutes |
| Fri Nov 6 | 17 minutes |
Hottest shows
PFF went a third Bears
| PFF NFL Podcast | 32% |
|---|---|
| Football 301 | 23% |
| SVPod | 21% |
| Green Light | 21% |
| The Herd | 19% |
| Mina Kimes Show | 18% |
By the numbers
| Bears airtime | 448 of 3,518 published minutes across 51 episodes from 13 shows (58.6 h of audio) |
| The game | Bears 34, Seahawks 17 on MNF, Nov 2 (Week 8 finale); Simmons' debut wreckage, Swift 3 TDs, Caleb in command |
| Reaction only | ~40 of the 448 minutes are Week 9 previews; strip them and the share is 11.6% |
| Coldest shows | McAfee 5.4%, Pardon My Take 6.1%, Ross Tucker 6.6%, 3 and Out 6.7% |
